Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born Kanji Inoki; 20 February 1943-1 October 2022), known as Antonio Inoki, was a Japanese professional wrestler and politician who served in the House of Councillors from 1989 to 1995 and from 2013 to 2019.
Biography[]
Kanji Inoki was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1943, the son of politician Sajiro Inoki, and he learned karate from his older brother and emigrated to Brazil with his family in 1957. He distinguished himself as a shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw athlete, and he returned to Japan at age 17 to become a professional wrestler. In 1971, Inoki co-founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and he became one of Japan's most popular wrestling stars. In 1976, he fought American boxer Muhammad Ali to a 15-round draw, and, in 1995, he and Ric Flair headlined two shows in North Korea with record attendance. In 1989, he followed in his father's footsteps and was elected to the House of Councillors for his Sports and Peace Party, and, in 1990, he negotiated the release of Japanese hostages from Iraq on the eve of the Gulf War. He lost re-election in 1995 due to a number of scandals, but he returned to politics in 2013 with the Japan Restoration Party. He was controversial for his frequent visits to North Korea, and he joined the Party for Japanese Kokoro in 2014, co-founded the Assembly to Energize Japan in 2015, and retired from politics in 2019. He died in Tokyo in 2022 at the age of 79.